ISLAMABAD: Ayub Afridi from Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) has finally stepped down as Senator following the verification of his resignation, which remained pending for weeks by Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani — with Afridi been appointed as Prime Minister’s Advisor on Overseas Pakistanis—in what comes as a clear indication that PM’s Finance Advisor Shaukat Tarin is to be elevated in the upper house of Parliament on the seat vacated by Afridi.
Following this move, the Senate Secretariat has sent a copy of Afridi’s verified resignation to the ECP to notify the vacant Senate seat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it is learnt.
Speaking to media before his appointment as PM’s advisor, Afridi, Tuesday, said that he tendered his resignation to Prime Minister Imran Khan few weeks back.
“But I was asked to wait till after the joint session,” he said.
“My Senate seat was a responsibility assigned to me by the PM. If he gives me any other opportunity, I would serve the nation. If not, I will have no objection,” he added.
Business Recorder reported on the fifth of this month that federal government was planning to get Tarin elected as a senator in order to appoint him as Finance Minister subsequent to the joint session of Parliament. The joint session was held on November 17.
The delay in Tarin’s election is premised on the fact that the government would need to vacate one Senate seat before nominating Tarin as a candidate, an action tantamount to losing one vote in the joint session.
As the government had planned to hold voting on crucial legislation related to Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and internet voting (i-voting) in Parliament’s joint session, it did not want to take the risk of losing a vote in Senate, Business Recorder reliably learnt.
Last month, reports first surfaced that Afridi resigned from the Senate in order to create space for Tarin in Senate, and that Afridi would be assigned the portfolio of PM’s advisor.
A source close to Afridi said that he tendered his handwritten resignation to the chairman Senate few weeks ago but it was not verified by the chairman Senate who was in Balochistan then, reportedly to lobby for new Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo.
It was then decided to take up the issue of Tarin’s elevation to Senate after Parliament’s joint session, it is learnt.
In the light of relevant provisions of the Rules of Procedures and Conduct of Business in Senate 2012, a senator, who intends to step down from the Senate membership, tenders his/ her handwritten resignation to chairman Senate.
The resignation becomes effective after verification by the chairman from the senator. The chairman is then required to send a copy of the resignation to ECP to notify the vacant seat in Senate.
Article 224 (5) of the Constitution of Pakistan provides that when a seat in the Senate becomes vacant, an election to fill the seat shall be held within 30 days from the occurrence of the vacancy.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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